In the manufacture of solar energy collectors of a type suitable to heat water or air for domestic or other use, the collectors are usually designed for mounting on a roof or adjacent a building within which is located a storage area within which the heated medium is stored.
Known collectors usually include a boxlike enclosure having separate bottom, side and end walls assembled into the desired configuration and having its upper side covered by glass or plastic glazing screwed, bolted or otherwise secured in place.
Such enclosures require careful fabrication and assembly by relatively expensive methods. The bottom of the enclosure may be of a size to extend over several square feet and, when made of relatively thin material may easily buckle and bend, making it difficult to handle the assembled collector and sometimes resulting in damage to the glazing.
Additional means is usually required to secure the collector to a roof, and when the collector is mounted in position upon the roof, no means is provided for ventilating the space between the roof and the bottom of the collector, thus resulting in possible damage to the roof.